


love under wraps

by storyop



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-01
Packaged: 2019-08-13 21:45:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16480319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyop/pseuds/storyop
Summary: chanyeol loves halloween, but he loves kyungsoo more.





	love under wraps

**Author's Note:**

> for jonghyun. halloween isn't the same without you.

Chanyeol  _ loves _ Halloween.

In his absolutely-not-humble opinion, it’s better than every other holiday combined, and he’s entirely willing to invest in drawn-out (unnecessary) debates about it with Baekhyun, who is a Christmas enthusiast for no bigger reason than the opportunity for him to dress up as a provocative Santa Claus and consequently terrorize both children and his friends. Jongdae doesn’t care, perfectly happy as long as he’s being gifted something, whether it’s candy or presents or attention. A part of Chanyeol admires him for that.

But Halloween is his element; he doesn’t have to rein his rambunctious self in at all and has the ability to be as over the top as he wants, so he gives it all for his costumes. Last year he’d dropped far too much money on an Iron Man suit and hadn’t regretted it for a second, not even when he’d had to pick up almost twice as many shifts at the daycare to make up for it. 

This year though… he runs into a problem.

See, he has a crush. And it’d be perfectly okay if it was anyone other than Do Kyungsoo. 

Because a) it’s Do Kyungsoo, and Chanyeol has never met a funnier, more beautiful, talented, and all around perfect individual, never mind Baekhyun telling him that his love has blinded him; b) Chanyeol is honestly a hot mess, all long limbs and far too much enthusiasm for the most ridiculous things, often falling asleep in the studio with his face smashed against his keyboard and his headphones tangled around his neck (and almost choking him with the amount he moves around when he’s passed out); c) the two of them have been friends forever and Chanyeol decidedly does not want to fuck up one of his dearest friendships by sticking his abnormally large foot into his abnormally large mouth. 

Baekhyun and Jongdae, being Baekhyun and Jongdae, weasel it out of him with next to no difficulty, and immediately use the information to blackmail him into doing their evil bidding. (He’s not sure why he’s friends with them.) Kyungsoo is never going to know about his feelings, but if he does ever find out, Chanyeol wants it to be from his mouth and not because Baekhyun “accidentally” lets it slip during their shared theater classes or because Jongdae sends him a voicemail of him yelling “CHANYEOL HAS A CHANYEOL-SIZED CRUSH ON YOU” because Jongdae  _ would  _ do that. 

The three of them throw an annual Halloween party (okay, _ he _ throws an annual Halloween party and Jongdae goes along with it because he loves any excuse to be around Yixing so the two of them can suck face, and Baekhyun because Baekhyun loves parties and happy people and the chocolate Chanyeol bribes him with) and this year, his two most awful friends force him to show up as a mummy.

A _mummy_ —one of the most basic costumes imaginable, aside from (and Chanyeol shudders at the thought) cutting out eye holes in a bed sheet, draping it over yourself, and calling yourself a ghost.

Chanyeol is sitting on his couch, feeling awfully dejected for it being one of his favorite nights of the year, when he meets Kyungsoo’s dark eyes, peeking out of his own costume. They crinkle into a clear smile, one that’s burned into Chanyeol’s memory, and suddenly his chest is tight with something he can’t exactly put a name to. But—

Kyungsoo is a mummy too.

(Suddenly, Jongdae and Baekhyun choosing a mummy — out of everything — makes a lot more sense.) 

Except, Chanyeol thinks with disappointment, where he’d put in hours after hours crafting the perfect mummy costume (he'd made it look as though his nails were bleeding and peeled the gauze he'd used to wrap himself back in some spots, and even painted gouges around his eyes as though he'd died while fighting a large bear; the backstory is just as important), Kyungsoo had simply used... toilet paper. toilet paper. He loves him, but this is an insult not only to this prestigious holiday, but to creativity as a whole, and he can’t just let it pass without saying something.  
  
  
  


 

Chanyeol meets Kyungsoo in an ice cream shop.

Kyungsoo’s head is bent over the display case when Chanyeol bursts through the doors, shivering slightly despite his thick coat. He’s not actually expecting to find anyone else in here, because who apart from him would be dumb enough to eat ice cream in the dead of winter? 

(Chanyeol firmly believes ice cream is not a seasonal thing.) 

But there’s a boy in there, a boy who looks up at him with wide, unblinking eyes as he trundles over to the counter. Chanyeol’s not sure why he’s getting stared at like that, but he’s not one to let first impressions get in the way of a potential friendship with someone who obviously thinks on the same wavelength as he does, even if he is currently being pinned by a death glare.

So he sticks his hand out and says, “Hi! I’m Chanyeol! Do you like cotton candy ice cream?” 

The boy blushes, fixing his gaze onto the floor.  _ Aw, he’s cute _ , Chanyeol thinks, still waiting with his hand extended toward him. Finally, what feels like years later, the boy hesitantly takes his hand and shakes it, still not looking at him. 

Chanyeol has to crane his ears, large as they are, to hear his mumbling, but he makes out a “I-I’m Kyungsoo. It’s my favorite.”

Chanyeol beams. “It’s my favorite too!” Turning to the woman behind the corner, he orders two cotton candy ice creams, ignoring Kyungsoo’s quiet protests. “You know, I don’t really meet a lot of people who like to eat ice cream this late in the year—” He breaks off as he notices Kyungsoo glaring again. “Um, sorry. Did I say something? If you really don't want to take the ice cream, I can always just eat it all myself—”

“No,” Kyungsoo says immediately, cheeks coloring again. Maybe he'll forever be red-cheeked around Chanyeol. "I can't... I can't see."

"What?" Chanyeol says, accepting their ice cream gratefully.. 

"I have astigmatism," Kyungsoo explains quietly, staring at the floor as Chanyeol leads him to a table. "I-I can't really see without the glaring and people don't... anyway." There's a long silence, and then Chanyeol snorts.

"So why don't you just wear glasses?"

Kyungsoo's head snaps up. "What?"

"Just wear glasses," Chanyeol repeats, shrugging and shoving a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. "That's what they're for, right? To fix your a stick thing?"

"Astigmatism," Kyungsoo corrects, mouth twitching. "But I can't wear glasses. I don't… I look stupid in them..."

"Please," Chanyeol says, mouth full, "you're too cute to ever look stupid." He regrets it immediately afterward, but when he sees Kyungsoo it dissolves into a sudden, sharp joy. Blushing furiously, Kyungsoo is protesting quietly, his head ducked and a shy smile gracing his face, and Chanyeol is thankful.

They talk for a long time. Chanyeol has to nudge the conversation along at first, but eventually Kyungsoo's layers peel away a bit and he opens up, and they talk and they talk and they talk—they both go to the same high school, Kyungsoo a year below him, and they both have a love for music. Kyungsoo listens attentively as he blathers on about the guitar he's just bought, and Chanyeol is thankful.

He takes the liberty of walking Kyungsoo home, hyper aware of the way people almost shy away from him if their eyes meet. Kyungsoo doesn't seem to notice, though, happily eating his ice cream and smiling at his terrible jokes, and Chanyeol is thankful. 

Because he's found a new friend, yes, but more than that—because he's found Kyungsoo.

  
  
  
  


Chanyeol threads his way through the crowd, making his way toward Kyungsoo past Baekhyun in his black widow costume, surrounded by a crowd of men and women (a little leather and some red hair dye go a long way) and Jongdae, of course, making out with Yixing in the corner. He’d hate it if they weren’t so good with each other, if Yixing didn’t make Jongdae as happy as he did.

He can’t really read Kyungsoo’s face, but judging by the intensely concentrated way he’s looking around the party, he isn’t wearing his contacts. 

“You should’ve just worn your glasses over the... uh, toilet paper,” Chanyeol says mournfully, gesturing at Kyungsoo’s face. 

“Oh, hey, Yeollie,” Kyungsoo says, and the measure of relief in his voice brightens Chanyeol up a bit. Kyungsoo is shy where Chanyeol is not, and getting him out of his shell can be a challenge sometimes. "Nice costume."

"Can't say the same," Chanyeol says, bottom lip stuck out in a pout that makes Kyungsoo chuckle a little, eyes soft.

"But we're literally the same thing..."

"Look at you, Kyungsoo." Chanyeol gestures to him, toilet paper wrappings already coming half undone. "You're wearing the stuff i use to wipe my ass.”

"Okay, honestly, I totally forgot it was Halloween until last night," Kyungsoo explains a little guiltily, picking at the paper around his mouth. "But then i had to stay up late working on an essay, and I ended up googling an article about ‘fifteen easy last minute DIY Halloween costumes’ or something like that at like four in the morning..." He trails off as he notices Chanyeol frowning exaggeratedly. “I know, I know. How could I have forgotten such an important holiday—”

“More importantly,” Chanyeol says, “Did you get the essay done? And then sleep well? You didn’t drink too many energy drinks, did you? And you ate dinner, right?” 

“I’m fine, Yeol.” Kyungsoo rubs a hand down Chanyeol’s back, a smile evident in his eyes. “And I think the essay turned out pretty well for a last minute hustle.”

Chanyeol’s sure he looks like a giant dumbass right now, smiling goofily at Kyungsoo and probably being really obvious about how in love with him he is. (Somewhere in his mind it registers that Baekhyun and Jongdae couldn’t have planned this after all, that this was something more like fate.) Thankfully Kyungsoo’s not looking at him anymore, instead casting a narrow-eyed stare around the room. 

“Hey, Yeol?” he begins, before the two of them are interrupted in their moment by a certain Kim Junmyeon, who’s friends with everyone and no one. Chanyeol feels bad for him sometimes, because he doesn’t seem to be close to anyone except for a freshman named Oh Sehun who he’s sort of adopted as a younger brother. Chanyeol has met Sehun a couple times, and liked him for his warmth, hidden as it may be by an outwardly cold visage. 

“Sorry to interrupt,” Junmyeon says pleasantly. He’s always polite, always nice (despite being the butt of several jokes for his own terrible jokes) and it’s almost impossible to dislike him. “Have either of you seen Jongin?”

Chanyeol points a finger at one of the men surrounding Baekhyun, hanging on to the latter’s sharp smile with something too soft in his gaze. Junmyeon’s eyes shutter, and then he shoots them a shaky smile and a careful “thank you” before ambling away in the opposite direction of Jongin. Chanyeol lets out a small, sympathetic breath, but he thinks it’s a little strange that Baekhyun, magnetic as he is, is a whole lot like Junmyeon, friends with everyone and with no one. It’s as hard disliking Baekhyun as it is Junmyeon, mostly because he’s always armed with a smile and the ready desire to do whatever it takes to make you happy. It worries Chanyeol sometimes how much Baekhyun worries about everyone.

“He’ll be okay,” Kyungsoo says softly, and Chanyeol isn’t sure if he’s talking about Junmyeon or Baekhyun.

  
  
  
  


Chanyeol makes it a habit, walking Kyungsoo home.

He’s rewarded with Kyungsoo’s trademark wide smile instead of verbal  _ thank you _ s, and he honestly prefers it this way, a warm feeling settling in his stomach every time Kyungsoo’s lips begin to tug upwards. It’s an honor, really, being the reason for so many of Kyungsoo’s smiles, and Chanyeol collects them and carefully stores them in his heart until it’s bursting at the seams with Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo. 

Chanyeol is a clumsy boy, all long limbs and excitement and ears that look like they’re made for picking up signals from outer space. When he was little, he was cute with his ears and his ferret, but now he’s just… he’s just Chanyeol. Chanyeol who loves ice cream and playing guitar and walking Do Kyungsoo home. 

Sometimes he wonders why Kyungsoo still sticks around him, when they’re so different in nearly every way possible and he’s sure Kyungsoo would rather be around someone quieter. 

(It takes him years to realize that in the most cliché way possible they fit together like puzzle pieces, that they complete each other the way their voices do, interlock like Kyungsoo’s fingers between his.) 

Despite his fervent belief that no one could appreciate everything about Kyungsoo the way he does, Chanyeol’s mom falls in love with him on sight, making Chanyeol both a) regret bringing Kyungsoo to his house (not really); and b) jealous of the way his own mother more or less forgets about his experience in favor of fussing over his best friend. 

When they finally escape to Chanyeol’s room, he dramatically flops down onto his bed, spreading his arms wide and staring up at the ceiling. “Soo, if you don’t stop being so charming to the middle aged ladies, my mom will adopt you.” 

“Mom’s adopting who?” comes a voice, and Chanyeol scrambles into an upright sitting position so he can glare at Yura, who’s laughing at him from right outside his door. “I’m kidding. Hey, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol talks about you a lot.” 

Kyungsoo’s eyes crinkle at that, and Chanyeol groans, tipping himself backwards and grabbing the first thing near him so he can hug it to his chest. It’s one of his Rilakkuma plushies (his bed is full of them), and he’d be a lot more self-conscious about his appreciation for ( _ not _ obsession with) them if Kyungsoo hadn’t already known. He’d dressed up as Rilakkuma for Halloween last year and shown up to his neighbor’s party in full costume absolutely not expecting Kyungsoo to be there because Kyungsoo doesn’t do parties, but he had been, and it had been okay because he’d just laughed at him fondly and then stuck by him the entire time even though Chanyeol himself hadn’t strayed too far from the snacks table. (He’s a teenage boy and he needs his food, especially being as tall as he is. He’s still waiting to grow into his height and stop being so awkward all the time, but Kyungsoo doesn’t seem to mind anyway.) 

Speaking of, Kyungsoo is standing there smiling at him with his hair messy from his wool hat in his too big sweatshirt that he’d “borrowed” from Chanyeol and never given back and suddenly Chanyeol feels a little weird, like he’s getting sick or something. Ignoring it, he pats the space on the bed next to him and opens his arms, big, and says, “Welcome to my humble abode!” Kyungsoo laughs a little and settles down beside him, and Chanyeol continues, “I’ve been wanting to say that for so long but my mom got to you first. Hey, I know what we can do!” 

His beautiful guitar is leaning next to the wall by his closet, and he carefully unzips the case and pulls it out, plucking a few of the strings experimentally. When he turns back to carry it to the bed, Kyungsoo is sitting there looking at him with big eyes, knees drawn to his chest and his arms circling them, and there’s that funny feeling blooming in his stomach again.

Getting comfortable, Chanyeol tunes his guitar, and Kyungsoo watches him in silence with his lips curved into a smile. It’s been maybe half a year since the two of them have met and Kyungsoo’s smile is already firmly in the number one spot in Chanyeol’s heart. 

“Do you want to sing with me?” Chanyeol asks him. Kyungsoo’s eyes widen a little. “It’s okay if you don’t, but…” He leans forward and says a little teasingly, “I’m going to the school musical and you’re in it so I’m gonna hear you sing anyway. You might as well.” 

“...Okay,” Kyungsoo says a little hesitantly. It takes them no time at all to fall into a pattern of Chanyeol strumming his guitar, cycling through songs he knows the both of them know and love because their music tastes are so similar, and Kyungsoo singing, voice rich and velvety and smooth, and Chanyeol occasionally chiming in with his own vocals. 

Chanyeol had been right all along — they do sound good together. Better than good. Perfect. 

And it’s there, sitting cross-legged on his bed in a shirt that’s like five sizes above his own and every single one of his senses filled with the sensation of Kyungsoo singing that Chanyeol realizes with absolute certainty that he is in love. 

  
  
  
  


They get roped into a massive just dance championship by none other than Baekhyun, even though both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol do their absolute best to get out of it. Chanyeol pouts through Baekhyun’s entire turn (he plays against yixing and loses grandly), only appeased when Kyungsoo tugs at his elbow and says, “I’ll play with you.” They’re both terrible, so Chanyeol’s okay with that. He’d be okay with losing to Kyungsoo, too. 

It’s a good thing, too, because he does lose to Kyungsoo, distracted by the way the sweat shines along his brow and the look of absolute determination in his eyes. When Kyungsoo cares, it’s obvious, and Chanyeol is certain he cares about absolutely  _ decimating  _ Chanyeol. The song winds to a stop and Chanyeol is left to collapse perhaps a touch too dramatically into Kyungsoo’s waiting arms and fond smile. 

“You guys are gross,” Jongin mouths at them from over Kyungsoo’s head, and Chanyeol squeezes his eyes shut, grinning wildly as Kyungsoo wiggles in his arms. 

“Get off me, you fool,” Kyungsoo is saying, but he’s also patting Chanyeol’s cheek in that comforting way of his and smiling that smile that Chanyeol knows for a fact is for him and him only because he’s known Kyungsoo for years and loved him for just as many. jongdae and Baekhyun have been hovering around him with matching platitudes of  _ just tell him how you feel _ and Chanyeol’s been resisting it this entire time because damn it, he’s scared and he doesn’t want any of this to end, but Kyungsoo’s hand is warm against Chanyeol’s face and he wants to kiss him until the both of them are dizzy with the feeling. 

So he says to Kyungsoo, “Can we talk,” and watches as Kyungsoo’s eyes flash with just the slightest bit of alarm and continues, “No, nothing bad, I just—I mean, unless you think it’s bad, it’s really up to you, and I won’t mind if you do—okay, so I might mind a little, but I’ll totally understand—”

The alarm has given way to confusion, and Chanyeol pulls off of Kyungsoo as he says, “Balcony?” Chanyeol nods, wrapping his fingers loosely around Kyungsoo’s wrist, which is exposed with the unraveling of his costume.

Kyungsoo’s leaving a trail of toilet paper behind him and Chanyeol can’t bring himself to really care, not with the way Kyungsoo is leading him toward the small balcony with that same determination, not even bothering to look back like he knows Chanyeol will always be following him everywhere.   
  
  
  
  


 

“Spill,” Kyungsoo demands. “I’ve never seen you this nervous. Is something wrong?” 

Chanyeol shuffles his feet. “No?” 

“You don’t sound very sure of yourself…”

“I’m not,” Chanyeol admits. “I’m not sure of myself at all. About a lot of things, but especially about this thing.” 

“Can you stop being purposefully vague and just tell me what’s up?”

Kyungsoo looks really pretty like this, Chanyeol thinks. The moon is out, bright and full, and it highlights the way the massive dark circles under his eyes — because they’re college students and they all have them — contrast with the white of the toilet paper.

“What?” Kyungsoo asks, blinking. “Chanyeol…”

“I just think you’re pretty,” Chanyeol says, blushing wildly as soon as he starts speaking. “And… I…You… I mean, you’re so… wonderful, and…” 

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says, looking about as flustered as Chanyeol feels right now, “are you trying to tell me you like me?”

“No,” Chanyeol says, and Kyungsoo’s mouth drops open into a little ‘o.’ “I’m trying to tell you that I’m in love with you.” 

“Oh,” Kyungsoo says. Then again. “ _ Oh _ .” 

“Oh?” Chanyeol says. For a second he’d been afraid Kyungsoo was saying  _ no _ , but that had maybe just been him expecting the worst. But this is only near the worst. “Okay. That’s… that’s fine. Like I said, it was up to you. But… I mean, don’t let this get in the way of our friendship or anything! Like, I won’t, uh, treat you any differently? I guess? Nothing’s changed. It’s all good. No hard feelings. Thanks. I think we should go inside now.”

“Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says, eyes big, “shut up.”

“What?”

“I absolutely want this to get in the way of our friendship,” Kyungsoo replies, and he’s smiling so wide it’s making Chanyeol nervous. “Fuck our friendship.”

“I literally have no idea what you’re saying to me right now,” Chanyeol says. His head feels like a balloon, ready to detach from his neck at any point in the immediate future. “You don’t want to be friends anymore?”

“Nope,” Kyungsoo says, and kisses him. 

Okay, so Chanyeol’s a bit slow. But what counts is the end result, right? And the end result is this: the world narrowing to Kyungsoo and just Kyungsoo (as though he didn’t already have tunnel vision), Kyungsoo’s hands Kyungsoo’s skin Kyungsoo’s lips. 

Chanyeol almost gets a mouthful of toilet paper.

“Oh, hold on,” he mutters, uncovering Kyungsoo’s face. His cheeks are flushed, eyes sparkling. There’s a pimple forming on his chin. He’s the prettiest boy Chanyeol has seen in all his twenty plus years of life. “Oh. Wow.”

“Stop,” Kyungsoo mumbles, his ears flaming. “Just… kiss me. Please.” 

What is he going to do? Say no? 

**Author's Note:**

> y'all ever [bass boosted] drown in insecurities [twitter](https://twitter.com/odeysseys)


End file.
